Electric vehicles and high performance aren't two concepts that naturally spring to mind together. One firm that wants to show that the concepts can be perfectly good bedfellows, however, is US startup Renovo. The company says its newly-announced Coupe is the "first all-electric American supercar."
It's certainly not the first electric supercar. Amongst those already created are the SSC Ultimate Aero that was released in 2009 and the more recent Rimac Concept One. The Aero is American too, but it doesn't appear to have ever made it into production.
Nonetheless, the Renovo Coupe is a worth a look, not least because it shows what electric vehicles can be capable of. Renovo says it produces 1,000 ft lb (1,356 Nm) of direct-drive torque and over 500 hp from its twin sequential axial flux motors. With a weight of 3,250 lb (1,474 kg), this means that the Coupe will accelerate from 0-60 mph (0-97 km/h) in under 3.4 seconds. That's faster than the Detroit Electric SP:01 – another electric performance car that it's worth acknowledging.
The company says that the Coupe's throttle will produce full power within just 37 milliseconds and that the vehicle's battery can be charged in half an hour. The battery is modular in design, split across multiple separate battery enclosures to provide a better weight distribution.
Aside from the its technology, the Coupe also has a striking and familiar look. It uses a modified version of the Shelby Daytona chassis, which has been supplied by Shelby itself. The chassis was designed by Peter Brock, who designed the original Shelby Daytona.
"This shape was nearly perfect 50 years ago, and physics doesn't change much over time," says Brock. "However, the redesigned car has a totally updated body, frame, suspension, and cabin; it's a new chapter for this chassis."
Renovo has been developing the Coupe in secret for over four years. The vehicle was designed at the company's base in Silicon Valley. It will be available to buy from next year.
The video below provides an introduction to the Renovo Coupe.
Source: Renovo
